High School Of The Violin, bk 1: Conductor Score & Parts

This first book establishes fundamental violin technique with purpose and elegance. David writes progressively, introducing positions and bow control through actual musical phrases rather than mechanical exercises, so students develop both mechanics and interpretive instinct from the start.

Purposeful and lyrical. David writes melodies that sing even within technical constraints, creating a sense that building technique is inseparable from making music. The opening studies feel like genuine songs rather than finger exercises.

Young violinists establishing primary position and building foundational bow technique. Teachers developing students' ability to read and execute basic musical structures with stylistic awareness.

• Attend carefully to the piano part as a conversation partner, not merely accompaniment. The balance between violin and piano often suggests phrasing and rubato.
• Work through positions methodically before performance. David's position shifts are logical and purposeful; mark them clearly in the score for consistent execution across repeated practice.
• Shape shorter phrases with clear bow changes at natural musical cadences rather than allowing the bow arm to dictate phrasing choices.

Use this as core pedagogical repertoire across the first years of serious violin study rather than as a recital piece. The book's structure supports sequential skill-building over an entire year or more, with individual exercises becoming performance-ready once students have command of the required technique.

• Reading in first position and shifting to second position
• Control of whole bow and half-bow articulation
• Coordination of bow direction with slur grouping and phrasing
• Basic vibrato introduction in musical context
• Recognizing and executing simple dynamic shapes
• Playing through simple harmonic progressions with awareness of chordal function